I'm sure this is a basic question and I probably didn't read the rules carefully enough, but I'm not finding it.
When building a covenant how does a covenant get more grogs than the base 1/magus? If it's with boons like "Veteran Fighters" or "Cavalry" about how many grogs is fair for one boon?
Thanks for any help.
I understand the 1 grog per magus to be a guideline for what's reasonable rather than a hard and fast rule. Many folks here, used to either earlier editions or popular fiction which assumes larger military forces for manors disregard it. I would say you get those grogs and/or more by either writing them up as characters or buying them as specialists with covenant build points.
As for how many grogs the boons buy you, I honestly have no clue. I don't believe it's spelled out anywhere and therefore it's a "your saga may vary" situation. In my saga, for an average covenant, I would assume between 5 and 10 men depending on quality and outfitting.
That sounds fair. I have always assumed that if you had a force a cavalry ( or similar boon) then this includes the specialist grogs you need to support them ie a groom, smith, or a leather worker. Some of those will have their own apprentices. This is on top of the specialists you buy to support the magi.
I assume that 3/4 of them are married and 3/4 of those have children. Soon even with 6 magi and the base 6 grogs and a boon of ten guardsmen and smith and apprentice and 12 spouses and ten or so children of various ages you soon start to develop a rather nice little community.
My reading:
1grog/magus is a rather soft guideline - more like a minimum really.
If travelling I'd actually recommend 2grogs/magus, to be honest.
Getting more grogs shouldn't need a boon unless you plan to have a huge army - the presence of armed men could as well be a hook (see castle for an explanation how). Besides, if you're using Covenants, you're already paying for them via upkeep.
No Boons needed. You want more? You get as many as you want. But remember you need to have enough mundane income to support them(or replace such support with magical activity).
1 grog per mage is just a very basic baseline guidance for what might be suitable to start with, it´s a suggestion and nothing more.
If you go REALLY crazy on numbers, and you´re located in the mundane world you should probably take the "Mudane Politics" Hook because your neighbors WILL be wary of you.
And again, having the money and/or resources to support your grogs can get troublesome very quickly if you have lots of them.
And as LuciusT said, basing the number on how many you´re willing to write up stats for, that works decently well.
My own standard tend to be 1-4 grogs per magi(6 most ever IIRC, 0 least ever), an additional number of grogs based on location of covenant(if it´s in a Regio that is almost unreachable then few or even none extra, if it´s in the middle between two warring clans then LOTS) and 0-4 personal servants.
A reasonable assumption even if i doubt its "by the book".
Heey! You´re not playing AM, you´re playing Sim City! :mrgreen:
Sorry. That's the accountant in me coming out.
I also like the idea that Covenants are more than magi, and companions, specialists and warriors. It's also families and children.
I like the idea of little stories. Of a maid having an affair with a warrior. a cook having a feud with a groomsman. Of a servant acting high and mighty because he is a mages go to guy. For me this is what brings a place to life rather than mere stats.
If you want to start running apprentices as characters then having a covenant where children can run about having adventures is important.
Rather than having as many grogs as you can stat up I would prefer that you can have as many grogs as you can write up 2or 3 lines be describing his relationships (and motivation/goals/dreams)
Good point. Both works depending on what you prefer.